OXFORD — Wednesday is National Signing Day, the day where high school and college football intersect, and the state of Mississippi is going to play a huge part in the national narrative.

With standouts prospects such as 5-star running back Jerrion Ealy and 4-stars like defensive linemen Charles Moore, Byron Young and Nathan Pickering set to make their decisions Wednesday, a significant percentage of major college football programs and fan bases will shift their focuses toward Mississippi.

To preview the day, the Clarion-Ledger spoke to ESPN's national recruiting director Tom Luginbill to get his thoughts on the best prospects Mississippi has to offer, including Ealy, Moore, Young, Pickering, quarterback John Rhys Plumlee and wide receiver Jonathan Mingo.

Tom Luginbill: Well he's just so dynamic in his versatility and all of the different things that you can do with him because he's got great ball skills. I'm a firm believer that if you're going to be a complete back, if you're going to be a difference maker at the running back position in college football right now, you have to be a factor in the passing game. When that huddle breaks on passing downs, you need to be on the field and the defense has to be aware of you. I think that's one of the things that makes him so dangerous. I think the other thing, and he gets knocked on this a little bit because he's somewhat diminutive in stature, but you can kind of make the argument that he's short but not necessarily small. He's very difficult to get a clean shot on. So he does a nice job of protecting himself and doesn't take a lot of hits. I think that in today's world of the spread offense, and you've got the jet sweeps and the bubble screens and all these different things you can do with the running back that can be detached from the backfield, that's what makes him so coveted.

CLOSE

Running back and outfielder Jerrion Ealy of Jackson Prep is a member of the 2018 Clarion Ledger Dandy Dozen.
Mackenzie Salmon, Mississippi Clarion Ledger

CL: Is there a comparison on someone Ealy reminds you of?

TL: Alvin Kamara. The ability to be a nightmare in space. To be able to branch out and play in the passing game. I think that's really important to what you're looking for with a skilled athlete. Another guy would be Alabama's Josh Jacobs who just declared. Josh has more physical stature to him, but it's the same skill set. And a lot of that stature, if Jerrion decides to play football, will come with time in the weight room as he gets bigger and stronger. But it's the same kind of traits that I would probably compare him toward.

TL: I think it's more a combination of baseball and whether they believe he's ever going to be big enough to be an every-down type of back, a back that can be on the field all three downs of every series. And I know that we don't see a lot of that in college football anymore, but one of the things about playing the running back position is remaining durable. And those are things that schools have concerns about sometimes.

CL: But he probably wouldn't have to be an every-down back as a freshman at the schools that are pursuing him.

TL: Right. Because he's what I call a change-of-pace back. But I think the other thing too, and this is one of those instances where a week at an all-star game and the word that was getting out about him at the Under Armour game not just on game night but during the week, all of the sudden that kind of reignited his recruitment. Because I think what was happening was a lot of his peers were talking to their coaches and word gets around like 'Look at this guy.' And that might've led to coaches reinvesting or taking a last look.

TL: I think each separate case is its own, but listen: There are going to be plenty of opportunities for Jerrion Ealy and when you really look at the big picture, none of them are bad. You can go on and play college football and college baseball. You can decide to just play baseball. You can say 'I don't want to play baseball anymore' and just play college football. The opportunities are vast. And I think the kid is smart enough to realize, 'No matter what I choose to do, eventually I'm going to have to make a decision. But none of the decisions have a necessarily negative outcome.'

CL: Shifting gears, you seem to rate Nathan Pickering higher than some other services do. What makes him stand out to you?

TL: He's just so explosive and disruptive. I think that's the thing. No. 1, it's a premium position. You'll notice this about our rankings ever since we came into the fold in 2006: We're going to place a much higher premium on positions in the offensive and defensive line and at cornerback on defense than we're ever going to place on a running back or a receiver. Because that's where championship programs are built, and there's not enough of them. If you get a guy that can be a potential difference maker, be a disruptor, plays with passion and he's at a position that doesn't grow on trees, then that guy takes precedence. Even over a great wide receiver. The reality is, there's great receivers everywhere. Every team in college football has at least one or two guys [at wide receiver] where you can go 'Hey, we can win a few games with this guy.' There's about five teams in college football that can say that about their defensive front.

CL: Does this also apply to Charles Moore and Byron Young?

TL: Absolutely. And again, the premium position and the fact that there's so few of them. I don't want to get off point here, but this is the conversation that constantly surrounds the Big 12 and the Pac-12 and why they struggle to get in the mix and beat anyone that's truly good on defense. They don't have those types of players in their player pools to draw from. But the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and Florida, they all have them. And they've got a lot of them. That's why everybody tries to infiltrate that area.

CL: Is there anything that differentiates Pickering, Moore and Young?

TL: Uh, nothing significant in my mind. I think Pickering is one of those kids that he might have the highest ceiling to be able to be the type of guy that takes over a game.

CL: You bring up wide receivers. Do you have any insight on Ole Miss wide receiver commit Jonathan Mingo and what his skills might be?

TL: I know one thing about that is in the first early signing period (in 2017), I was with Matt Luke and I was hosting film room for the mega-cast. We were talking about his roster and obviously we were talking about the wideouts and he said, 'Yeah, we've got ourselves a helluva group. The only problem is they're all going to be gone next year.' So he knew that a huge, huge component to their recruiting efforts this year was going to come at wide receiver out of sheer need. So I think Mingo is the type of guy who can go up and get it. I think he can win the contested matchups, which is so much of the position now. You've got to be able to come down with the ball when you're covered and you've got to be able to track the vertical ball and have the focus over the shoulder and the awareness of where you are on the field. I think running routes and having field awareness as a wide receiver are two areas that maybe get overshadowed by the old height-weight-speed. Of course you've got to be able to run, but there's a nuance to playing the position. Ask Julian Edelman. He ain't the biggest, he ain't the tallest and he ain't the fastest. But he has the nuance to get open.

CL: Sticking with Ole Miss, what are your opinions on John Rhys Plumlee? Is he a quarterback? Safety? What's his future?

TL: I think all of the above. I think you start him at quarterback and then see what he knows, how far along is he and is he a viable option to remain there? Because, you know he's got a lot of Trace McSorely traits to him. Maybe it's not ideal size, but he's crafty, he's a good athlete, he can run, he scares defenses when plays break down because he can extend plays and create on his own. But it's that same athleticism that leads you to say 'Hey, it's that same athleticism at quarterback that if we move him to another spot we've got ourselves a football player.' So there's no downside. It's kind of the adage of the more you can do, the more valuable you are. I think that's a big upside to him.

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Check back to the Clarion-Ledger all day Wednesday for coverage of National Signing Day for Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Southern Miss, Jackson State and the many recruits from Mississippi who will be making their college decisions.